Call for revised teacher training

More and shorter routes to becoming second-level teachers are needed to help meet the growing need for staff, a schools leader has said.

Antoinette Nic Gearailt, president of the Association of Community and Comprehensive Schools (ACCS), said the length and associated costs of training turn young people off teaching careers.

While most primary teachers do a four-year degree immediately after Leaving Certificate, most second-level teachers obtain a two-year postgraduate qualification after doing a primary three-year or four-year degree.